A Kunoichi's Time
by NekoXyN
Summary: What if Naruto had another friend, one who he was comfortable around. Her name is Yukari Uzaruki. She is of the Uzaruki clan of the Akashingan. Her blood trait is the Akashingan, or Red Bird eye. This story starts off two weeks before the chuunin exam
1. Scroll 1

_**A Kunoichi's Time:**_

_This story begins during the beginning of the Chuunin Exams._

_**Scroll 1: Konohagakure Village**_

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Yukari Uzaruki groaned to herself as the pounding on her front door interrupted her snooze. She rolled over onto her back and let an arm flop over her opening eyes.

"GO AWAY!" The red-eyed girl hissed at the noise.

Fortunately, the pounding stopped. Pulling the pillow over her head, Yukari rolled back over onto her side. Sleeping was bliss. Was. Until she felt something heavy sit on the edge of her mattress. Sitting and…not sitting, but perched and moving.

"I swear; if this is some sort of joke…" Yukari sat bolt upright and stared into squinty blue eyes.

Six facial stripes sat on masculine cheeks as a smirking set of lips set off the rest of the boyish face. The blonde, spiky hair-style was held back by a navy blue headband with a metal plate on it; describing the village icon: a leaf. A blue collared, orange jacket sporting a swirled patch sewn onto the right shoulder came next. Orange pants covered the legs and then the feet sported dark-blue sandals as they continued to push up and down on the mattress, making it move like a waterbed. The same feet that belonged to the male shinobi that went by the name Uzumaki, Naruto. The fool was grinning at her as he perched on the end of her bed.

"Morning Yukari-nee-san." The blonde-haired teenager chuckled from his bedpost perch.

Stark-red eyes stared back at the blue orbs as Yukari gave this nut-case of an intruder five seconds to hit the road. Ideas of heartless and utterly mean torture ran through her head as those five seconds ticked by. Naruto remained perched on the end of her bed grinning like a fool. Yukari cracked her knuckles, growled and narrowed her eyes as Naruto caught on and sweat-dropped. A harsh beat-down was imminent.

On the street outside; a father and his daughter were walking by when they sounds of a brawl issued from the open-window above. The sounds of shouting, cursing, pounding and things breaking made the two villagers wince in awe.

"Daddy? Does a ninja live behind that window?" the brown-haired girl pointed innocently at the high window from which the noises emerged. There was a lull in the chaos behind the plate of open glass.

"Yes, Neiko-chan, a ninja has to live in there." The sandy-haired father placed a hand on his daughter's head as the smiled and went on walking down the path; moving on with their daily business.

Meanwhile, the ninjas gasped for air as they both fell onto the floor; landing on their rear. The young shinobi and kunoichi sported multiple bruises and cuts. Naruto had a few on his cheek and had a huge lump on his head. His blue eyes looked across the distance to his opponent. Yukari was wrapping her hand around a cut on her upper arm, smirking as she saw that Naruto had indeed landed a series of decent hits.

"Heh, I got you good, Yukari-nee-san." Naruto gasped as he reached up to adjust his ninja headband.

"Rrrr! Naruto, you jerk! What's with you sneaking into my room!?" Yukari glared at the blonde-haired prankster. "Aren't you suppose to be training for the last part of your stupid chuunin exams!?"

"Heh…I am." Naruto stood up and looked around to see their mess. "I just thought since you weren't doing anything, we could go see Bushy-Brows and Kiba in the Med-center. I know they might genin, but everybody else is too busy training."

"Lee-kun, huh?" Yukari picked herself up and smirked. "Are you trying to hook me up with Lee-kun!?"

"Huh?" Naruto, of course, looked clueless. Yukari sighed and shook her head.

"Never mind. So…I heard you got stuck training with the closet-pervert, Ebisu-sensei." Her hand went through her shoulder-length black hair to push the strands out of her blood-red gaze.

"Eh? I was until the _Ero-Sannin_ came and beat the closet pervert, Ebisu-sensei, up." Naruto shrugged again as he took a seat on a chair he turned upright.

"Who?"

"_Ero-Sannin_. The pervy Toad Sage. He's an open-pervert. Heh…" Naruto turned his gaze towards his not-much older, feminine rival. "I got him good with the _Sexy no Jutsu_. I think you'd have him on his knees in mercy, Yukari. I know you can do the _Sexy no Jutsu_."

"How do YOU know!?" Yukari squeaked out as her face turned red.

"I saw you do it once." Naruto casually answered.

"Why YOU! HOW DARE YOU SPY ON ME!" Yukari growled, narrowed her eyes and cracked her knuckles; then advanced on Naruto. Beat-down was again, imminent.


	2. Scroll 2

_**Scroll 2: Yukari's Entrance**_

Yukari shut her door as she stepped out onto the dirt path and dusted off her hands as a show of habit. She stood a proud four foot and eight inches. Her navy-blue ninja uniform was her favorite clothing for today's mood. Black leather straps wrapped around her tan shoulders as it held up the black arm cuffs that looked, in her mind, awesome. Her neck was surrounded by the same black leather, and had shoulder pads to accentuate it. The rest of her indigo-blue uniform covered her mid-upper/lower chest/neck, went down to her side and around. This left her back uncovered and curved at her mid-lower back to the other side.

The short, indigo skirt went down to her knees, as black ninja pants covered the rest of her legs. Mid-thigh had a taped kunai pack, the tape beneath the pack's strap to protect her skin. Her wrists sported black bands, more style than usefulness. The feet that carried her down the used path had the normal, blue-black sandals as it left her toes open. The Konoha Leaf band was worn around her waist.

She had worked hard to get her status as a kunoichi. Having come from an important clan from the Village Hidden in the Leaves; Yukari was the second daughter and third child of Uzaruki Hibachi, the leader of the Uzaruki Clan. Yukari knew her family was significantly less famous than the Uchiha or the Hyuuga, and was probably written off as insignificant. But the Uzarukis were known for their stark red eyes that they had for life, unlike the Uchihas; whom could change their eye color while employing their Sharingan.

These eyes were capable of seeing things from the sky; an aerial view of the world. They are attuned to aerial sight to see great detail on land. The extent of the Sky Sight, as it was called, had a height of a mile and five miles circumference. Little else was known publicly about the Akashingan. But what the truth was, the ninjas from the Uzaruki clan used birds as their eyes; employing a jutsu to get inside the visual-optic nerves of the bird and scanning the sky and ground from flight. This was perfect when your clan's trademark animal was the bird. Summon the bird to help with the jutsu.

Those same red eyes glanced into the white-spotted, cloudy sky; making Yukari smiled. The sunlight hit her open back; warming the Uzaruki tattoo that was placed in between her shoulder blades. Her facial bruises that Naruto gave her were gone. Too bad the blonde nin was gone too, having been launched out her window with a foot to the rear. Her friend should learn to think before he spied on her. Spying on her while she was in the nude was a very bad idea.

This train of thought led herself to where it all started. Yukari was an individual that was born two years before the Fourth Hokage, Yondaime, defeated the Nine-tailed fox, Kyuubi. She grew up normally; until she became a ninja-in-training. Being in the same class as Neji, Lee and Tenten; she worked her way up until she became a genin, a first level ninja. Then, her life really started to get interesting. After being assigned to her new sensei: Akanchi, Jamaru; she got used to the idea of working with and as a team with Mino, Sudokari and Misaruki, Yuro. She began to enjoy her new family until the tragedy of their tenth mission.

It was this that their sensei made a serious mistake and led them into horrible danger. The 'shortcut' that the jounin-sensei led them through was unknown enemy territory and into an ambush. They fought the best they could, until Sudokari was struck down by a rogue ninja; who killed her with a kunai knife to the back. Things went from bad to worse as Yuro, the Sasuke-personality wanna-be, used up his chakra to bring his team back home safely. Yuro then fell into a coma and has been since.

It was during that horrible time that she met Naruto. The blonde goofball was on the run again, after pulling one of his pranks. It was a gut-busting prank too, as the whole village looked at the graffiti-ed stone faces of the four Hokages carved on the mountain side. It was as Naruto was running away that they met. Literally. The stupid pre-teen had slammed right into her. After she had soundly handed Naruto his rear, the blonde-haired kid vowed that he would never again be defeated by her. Which was true, somehow that very week, Naruto had become a genin and taken on missions which; puzzling to Yukari, made him exponentially stronger.

It didn't matter anyway, as Naruto and she became friends. They sparred thrice a week ever since then; ending up in exhaustion and her defeat. She wasn't letting Naruto win that easily, but he always managed to win. Naruto was special. His chakra was amazingly infinite. She tried prying information of why out of the Hokage, but he refused to tell her anything about Naruto's past.

Hm, come to think of it, she hadn't seen Naruto for a week now. She looked around and decided to go visit her friends that were stuck in the medical ward. She pushed off the ground with her chakra-enhanced feet and made her way to the medical ward.

Yukari pushed the white drapes away to look around the room; hoping she had picked the correct room. She was right on the mark. Lee, her old classmate, was laying calmly on his med-bed. Well, that was good; Lee was stable enough to rest by himself. She still had no clue of how Lee became so injured.

Yukari took the time to look around the room. It was your boring, run-of-the-mill medical-stay room. She slipped off the window ledge and walked further into the room, making her way over to Lee's bedside. Hm. A single yellow-white lily sat in a vase on the table-top that was in the corner. Another table was next to that; which probably held medical items such as towels and first-aid. She then turned her gaze to Rock Lee, whom lay in the bed.

He was recovering from whatever the hell happened to him in the second part of the chuunin exams. The part that took place in the tower of the Forest of Death training grounds was something she hated to miss. But she wasn't allowed in there by herself.

Lucky her; that she made it into the Forest of Death at all via transformation jutsu. She took the form of a squirrel, trying to spy on Naruto to see how he got so stinking strong. Only she had gotten lost and grabbed by some strange Sound Nin and got a paper-bomb slapped to her back.

She then found Naruto's pink-haired teammate, Sakura, and tried to run to her for help. The nervous girl had nearly skewered her with a kunai. Yukari the squirrel had run away from that scenario. Somehow the paper bomb had locked her in the animal form, making her unable to escape into her normal figure. Since she really didn't want to die as a cute little squirrel, she lost it and ran where-ever. As luck had it; her classmate, Rock Lee, came to her rescue and defused the nearly finished paper bomb and saved her life.

She surprised him by turning back into herself and blurting that some weird, stupid ninjas were harassing some girl named Sakura. That cinched it, as he made her change back and rushed to the rescue. Yukari had done her good deed for the day and; as soon as Lee finished using her squirrel form to enhance his heroic entrance, ran like mad out of the forest.

That was nearly two weeks ago that he and she had the encounter; and thus making her form a crush on Lee. Now Lee still was in bed, wearing his green turtleneck-style shirt and the bushy eyebrows that he was known for. His black eyes were shut for the time being. The white sheet covered most of his body, which, Yukari guessed, would have that simple green jumpsuit.

Well, not much to do here but watch. Too bad Yukari had not the time to just sit and stare at Lee, as awesome as he may be. She smiled at the sleeping form as she backed out of the room, via the door.

She turned around and came face-to-face with a harsh, cold green gaze that was rimmed with the black bruises of sleepless nights. She gasped and leapt back; giving the owner a good five feet space. Because not only did this boy look dangerous; he was a shinobi from _Sunagakure_; the Village Hidden in the Sand.

A pale, desert-stained face stared at her as she moved back. Short, sandy-red hair spiked out all over his head. A noticeably large, red-inked tattoo of the kanji for 'Ai' love was on the left side of his forehead. He wore an all black under uniform, his sleeves ending in netting. A white sash ran from his right shoulder and across, down to his left hip. A large, brown strap opposed the white sash; covering his left shoulder and running downwards across his chest and over his right hip. A huge, doubled gourd was on his back; presumably held onto the brown strap with mahogany cloth. The Sand Nin Band was strapped securely to the brown strap at the right hip. His sandals were black too.

"Uhh…hello!" Yukari stammered, still trying to get over the shock this Nin gave her by coming from nowhere. "Are…are you here to visit Lee-san too?"

The Sand Nin frowned at her.

"Ok, not happy to be here, are you?" Yukari sweat-dropped and smiled nervously as her hand went to the back of her head. Then the Nin stopped looking at her and turned his cold gaze to the motionless Shinobi in the bed.

The Sand Nin then groaned as his pale hands went to his head; as if he was having a bad headache. She gulped as her stark-red eyes watched this cold, silent Shinobi struggle with something that was taking place in his head. Moments later, her head followed his movements as he stumbled closer to Lee.

"Hey…what are you doing!?" Yukari gasped in horror as sand poured out of the huge gourd on the ninja's back. The grainy substance began to creep towards Lee; covering half his face. "STOP IT!" She shouted as she rushed this no-good visitor. Her hands tightened on his left arm. She wasn't about to let this crazy shinobi hurt her friend.

"GET off of me!" The Sand Nin growled at her; shoving her back. Instantly, the sand came at her from all angles; swirling around her legs and making its way up her body. The grains gave intent to encase her in a hard shell; trying to suffocate her.

"What the hell!?" Yukari gasped as the tan blob, as the sand was, wrap around her completely and tightened around her body.

The green eyes stared at her as the sand became harder; squeezing down on her body painfully. It was no use struggling against the stuff, as it seemed to have a mind of its own. A clump of sand slapped across her mouth; making her red eyes widen in shock. The Sand Nin had turned back to Lee and had his hand over the bushy-brow's face. HE WAS GOING TO KILL LEE!


	3. Scroll 3

_**Scroll 3: Gaara's History**_

The seconds seem to drag into hours as she watched, helplessly, as yet more sand curled around Lee's face; the Sand Nin's hand hovered mere inches above the sand. Those fingers curled as if to squeeze the life out of Lee; curled and stopped.

Suddenly, Naruto came out of nowhere and landed a decent hit on the Sand Nin's face. The voice of another one of her friends, Shikamaru, drew her attention as well.

Shikamaru Nara was there as well; medium in height for a boy that was a ninja. His fish-netting undershirt stuck out below the shorter; tan ninja shirt that sported a symbol on the back. His black, spiked widow's peak hair was tied back with a piece of string. Indigo capri-pants covered his lower torso and went down to his knees. The feet that held him were covered in black, open-toed sandals.

"What are you doing here, you bastard!" Naruto shouted. Yukari sighed with relief. Lee had been saved.

"Hey, Naruto. While I'm using the Shadow Copy no Jutsu, I move the same as him, ok?" Shikamaru groaned; rubbing his face and glaring at Yukari. Shikamaru had stepped in and caught the Sand Nin with his Shadow Jutsu. Yukari smiled from underneath the sand.

"Oh, sorry, Shikamaru." Naruto snorted and gazed at her as well. The sand slowly drifted off her as if a breeze was blowing.

"Haaaaaa…" She breathed in deeply and fell to her knees, rubbing her neck. The sand had constricted there also, but she was too astonished to notice.

"Hey, you ok, Yukari?" Shikamaru grated out.

"Yea…I'm ok; just shaken up." Yukari replied as she let herself look at the thick, black shadow on the floor. The same shadow that pulled on the Sand Nin's own. Her gaze trailed the slumped body upwards to his face. Pieces of clay fell off that angry face. She stiffened; seeing death in the green orbs.

"You…what are YOU doing here?" Naruto snarled to the sand-nin. Both he and Shikamaru stood tall and proud; glaring hatefully at the other male. Yukari slowly stood up and inched over towards them. "HEY? What were you doing to thick-brows and Yukari-nee-san!?" Naruto shouted out again.

"I was trying to kill him." Came the reply. "The girl was in my way."

"WHAT!?" The two of Konoha Nin were surprised. The look on their faces made her shiver.

"Why is there a need to do that? You won the fight." Shikamaru pointed out. "Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?" Shikamaru's words confused her even more.

"I do not…" The Sand Nin answered back. "I was going to kill him because I want to kill him."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, BASTARD!" Naruto shouted at the would-be murderer.

"You must have had a messed-up childhood. How self-centered can you be?" Shikamaru asked; before his face looked like he was thinking under duress.

"If you get in my way, I'll kill you too."

"WHAT!? Go ahead and try!" Naruto blurted out angrily.

"Hey, Naruto, stop it!" Yukari growled as she watched Gaara closely.

"We know from the fight with him that you're strong, Gaara." Shikamaru stated, bluffing. "But we're not too bad ourselves, either. And we didn't show our 'special moves' in the prelims. Plus it's three on one, you're at the disadvantage. You have no idea what the girl can do. If you listen to what we say, we'll let you leave quietly."

_Oh gee, thanks, Shika-baka._ Yukari winced mentally. _Dragging me into some stupid fight. TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO LEE!_

"I'll say it again: get in my way and I'll kill you and the girl." The Sand Nin, Gaara, stated calmly.

"I won't be killed by the likes of YOU!" Naruto pointed at Gaara; shouting.

"Yukari told you to stop it!! His strength is like a monster, don't you understand that!?" Shikamaru held out a hand to stop Naruto.

Yukari sighed mentally as Shikamaru hounded Naruto. This bickering was getting pointless. She was about to ask just what happened to Lee and who this Gaara guy was when Naruto's serious voice echoed into the room.

"I have a real monster inside of me. I won't lose to the likes of him."

_What was that? Naruto-nee-san has a monster inside of him?_ Yukari shivered once more as Gaara stared at the three of them like he was going to rip their heads off by sight alone.

"A monster, eh? Then it's the same for me." Gaara had Yukari's full attention. "As you said, I had a messed up childhood. I was born into this world by taking the life of the woman I would have called my mother; to become the ultimate Shinobi. My father had attached the incarnation of Sand upon me through Ninjutsu. I was born a monster."

She gasped as the two males beside her stiffened in shock. Born a monster? That was an impossible feat in Yukari's mind. Gaara couldn't have been born a monster at all. One had to grow up to become a monster, their heart becoming full of spite and malice. Cold green eyes locked into hers; as if Gaara was speaking solely to her.

"It's a living spirit of an old Hidden Sand Priest called Shukaku. It was sealed within a kettle."

"A possession jutsu that allows one to be possessed before birth; to go that far…that's crazy!" Shikamaru leaned forward as his strained voice hissed out of his mouth. Yukari bit her lower lip and turned away from Gaara's nearly dominating gaze to look at Naruto. Something in Gaara's voice was setting warning bells off in her head.

Her blonde-ninja friend was looking oddly at Gaara; almost as if the Sand Nin was a negative reflection. She shivered and clasped her hands around her bare arms and chattered her teeth. She turned to her eyes towards the bed-ridden Lee and made sure he was still there. He was.

"That's something a parent does? What a strange expression of love." Shikamaru smirked.

"Love?" The word made Yukari snap her crimson gaze back to Gaara's emerald own. "Don't judge me with your measuring stick. Family…you want to know what kind of connection that is to me? It's simply pieces of meat, connected to me with murderous intent and hatred. By sacrificing my mother's life, I was created as the village's greatest masterpiece; as Kazekage's son. My father taught me the Shinobi secrets. I was spoiled and allowed to do as I pleased. I thought that was love."

Yukari gulped audibly and let her hands drop from her upper arms. Both Shikamaru and Naruto looked stunned from shock. This was bad. The tense vibes could snap at any second here; Yukari could feel it in her tingling nerves.

"Until that incident."

"What happened!?" Both Shikamaru and Naruto asked. Gaara's face grew a nasty, scary smile as he seemed to climax his answer.

"For the last six years from when I was six years old, my own father has tried to assassinate me countless times!" Gaara's black-rimmed eyes went wide with wicked delight.

"Ha! But you just said your father spoiled you. What the hell do you mean!?" Shikamaru was trembling as Naruto and Gaara stared each other down. Their faces were stern and grim. She sighed and moved closer to the door. This was getting to be too much for her.

"A being too strong can become an existence of fear. Born through a jutsu, my spirit was unstable. It seemed that the idiots in the village finally realized there was a problem. To my father, Kazekage, I was the village's trump card. But, at the same time, I was a very dangerous being. It seems that by the time I was six, it was determined that I was too dangerous. As the village's dangerous tool, I was only being used with care." Gaara's posture tightened, as did his fists at his black-clothed side. Yukari tried to signal Naruto and Shikamaru; to warn them that Gaara was about to pounce on them, tearing them to pieces to quell his anger. "To them I am simply an object from the past that they wish would disappear."

"Well that's a bunch of bull. You need a girl friend." Yukari muttered under her breath. No one reacted to her words.

"Then why do I exist? Why am I alive? When I thought about this, I could fine no answer. But as you live, you need a reason; otherwise it's the same as being dead."

The room grew quiet. Yukari had had enough of this jabber. She sensed her fellow ninjas had put up with enough drama; like her. She stepped up to spout her mind but then Gaara's eyes pierced hers again; as he continued.

"I then came to this conclusion: 'I exist to kill every human besides myself.' I finally found relief within the fear of death, of never knowing when someone would try to assassinate me. By continually killing the assassins, I understood the reason to continue living. Fighting for only yourself; living while only loving yourself. If you think everyone else simply exists to allow you to experience that feeling, nothing is better than that world. As long as there are people in this world for me to kill and to continue to feel that joy of living; my existence will not vanish."

Yukari stepped up; lifted a straightened arm at the death-talking ninja and extended a finger.

"LOOK! You self-pity-party! I've had it with your dark and gruesome story about your stupid childhood and pathetic attempt to self-justify your reason for being here. If you want to adjust that lame-ass attitude about the world, then go jump in a stupid lake. Each moment of life is precious! Don't you dare try to kill Lee-kun. You should be more like him; looking at the sky, enjoying the clouds and feeling the wind on your face as you train your body to defend your home. That is joy in itself. Just look at yourself, you're a mental wreck! You should try taking it easy and take a frickin' walk!" Yukari was worked up now; not caring at the extreme reactions that took place on her two male companions' faces. "Heck, I bet you ten bucks you'll feel happier after you and your so-called 'monster' go eat some cake!"

Naruto was staring at Gaara like he was a grim revelation. The blonde-nin was shaking harshly. Shikamaru was shaking his head at her as she spouted her feminine nonsense. Then she looked at Naruto; who was probably the closest thing to a nervous wreck.

"Naruto!? What's wrong!?" The black-widow-peaked haired ninja snapped Yukari out of her verbal lash-mode and made her turn to look at the shivering Naruto.

"Naruto-san?"

Then the sand came out of nowhere; huge and swirling…looming large in the room. All three teenagers froze in their spot and snap their gaze to Gaara. His face held murder; for all three of them.


	4. Scroll 4

_**Scroll 4: Death and Surprises**_

"Then let me feel it!" Gaara's eyes went wide as he moved – twitched – towards them.

"That's enough!" A new, older masculine voice cut through the building tension like a hot knife through butter. The four turned as one towards the door to see the muscular man.

Black, bowl-shaped cut hair along with what had to be the bushiest eyebrows in the village came into view. A broad face and large semi-flat nose off-set the frown on his lips as the experienced ninja stepped into the room. The man stood at five feet; plus he had an extra ten inches, making him an average height for a jounin. A green shirt and body suit was worn under a moss green ninja vest that had a large collar that stood up and went around the neck. Six pockets were sewn in on the chest of the vest; probably contained scrolls or summoning ink.

Two flaps came over his darker-green clad shoulders to hold up the main part of the chuunin vest, as it was called. A zipper divided the garment in two, symmetrical pieces. The vest curled up at the end; which was at waist level. The lower half of the older ninja was green jumpsuit; which allowed comfort and maneuverability. The sleeves ended two inches above his wrist, allowing his hands to be unhindered. The common, ninja-issued sandals were on his feet as well.

It was easy to see the similarities between Lee and his sensei: Maito, Gai. The kid in the bed had the same, bowl-hair cut and bushy eyebrows; and the same black, easy-going eyes that told of their hard, physical endurance and work. Lee idolized his sensei; which was something Yukari never fully understood. She hated her own sensei, Jamaru, for ignoring and treating her cruelly.

"The final fights are tomorrow, so don't get antsy." Gai-sensei, as was his nickname, spoke calmly to defuse the tense situation. "Or do you want to stay here starting today?"

Yukari exhaled in relief and turned to Lee, walking to the other side of his bed, not daring to move next to Gaara. If the ninja moved more, she could always lunge across and tackle him to the floor, allowing her comrades to act. She watched as Gaara clutched at his head again, staring at Gai-sensei.

Naruto and Shikamaru looked at one-another, then at Yukari and Lee and finally at Gai-sensei. Gaara snorted and slowly walked out of the room, the once-looming sand seeping into the gourd on his back. He stopped at the door and stared at the ninjas in the room.

"Just wait; I'll definitely kill you guys." With that said, he was gone.

The three ninja looked at the door, before turning their gaze to the stout Gai-sensei. Yukari was avoiding the situation by staring down at Lee's bushy eyebrows. She felt the heavy stares of the three male shinobi, causing her face to turn red under the scrutiny.

"Shikamaru-san, please tell me what has happened here." The uplifting voice of Gai-sensei rang through the silence.

"I don't know; Yukari saw it all." Shikamaru snorted and jammed his hands into his pockets. "You should ask her."

Yukari heard sounds of shuffling feet and body movement. She looked up to see both Naruto and Shikamaru at the door. The blonde boy gave her a grin and spoke.

"Yukari, it's ok, we'll be right outside the door to protect you."

She inhaled indignantly and flipped Naruto the birdie. He laughed and was gone from sight. Now the only people in the room were her, Lee and…Gai-sensei. The jounin looked sternly at her; his gaze making her fidget with her hand against her kunai pack. For some unknown reason, most jounin made her very nervous. Perhaps the nervousness was because her own jounin sensei was cold as ice towards her; or the crush she had on Naruto's own sensei.

"Uh…look, I didn't start anything, Gai-sensei. I was just looking out for Lee-san, that's all. Gaara came in here and I didn't know anything about him! I protected Lee! But the sand trapped me and Gaara was going to kill Lee-chan so I freaked out." Yukari blushed furiously as she spilled the story. "Then Shikamaru and Naruto came in and trapped Gaara. I was going to get more help, but things were too interesting to leave!"

"Yukari Uzaruki, is that your name?" Gai-sensei placed a hand on her shoulder and allowed her to calm down. "Do not worry, Uzaruki-san. I heard most of what was said. I offer my extreme apologies to you for any damage that has befallen you."

Yukari looked at Gai-sensei and nodded slowly. Gai-sensei didn't seem to scare or intimidate her anymore. She looked over at Lee's sleeping form and released the breath she was unaware she had been holding.

"Gai-sensei?"

"Yes; Uzaruki-san?"

"What exactly happened to Lee-chan to hurt him so bad?" Yukari asked finally; letting her shoulders relax.

Meanwhile, the Suna Sand Nin was standing in an empty room. His pale fingers were placed lightly against his left eye. His jutsu, _Daisan no Me_, or Third Eye, was spying on the room he was just in.

The kunoichi; the girl with the red eyes haunted his memory. She was the only thing on his mind as Gaara continued to spy on the scene in the med-room he had left. She was the second person to physically touch him in six years. Gaara had let down his defense when he entered the medical room to kill the ninja that had harmed him during the preliminaries. He had not expected anyone to be in there.

Gaara grunted as he continued to watch the conversation between the large jounin and the petite genin, as what she had to be. Her normal, feminine frame was relaxed and muscled. Short, black hair hung just around her neck; making her look like a boy; if it wasn't for the open-back that had a medium sized red tattoo; showing off her feminine back. But it was her eyes that caught Gaara's own. Her red, red eyes: the color of fresh-split blood; made his spine shiver in delight. He licked his dry lips once and stared down from where his sand-made eye was placed. This kunoichi…he had to taste her blood; he had to see how spicy it was. The beast inside him stirred. Yes. Gaara would play with her first; then kill her before anybody else. He would enjoy seeing her die.

Yukari sighed to herself as stepped outside the room; leaving Gai-sensei in there with Lee. She faced the others, Naruto and Shikamaru, and grinned fakely, trying to hide the fear and shock of the information that Gai-sensei told her about Lee.

"Well! That sure was interesting! That Gaara sure is something else. I say we go pick a fight with him and make him bleed for what he did to Lee-chan, right Naruto!?" Her red eyes turned towards the smirking teenager as the other male sighed tiredly.

"Man, what a drag." Shikamaru slapped a hand to his forehead. "We could have gotten killed back there, Yukari."

"But we didn't, Shikamaru-san, I say we forget this ever happened since Lee-san is ok. Gai-sensei said he would stay there and watch Lee-kun." Yukari tittered from behind her hand. Shikamaru knew this was a visage for her emotions. The girl was scared witless.

"Whatever, Yukari." Naruto snorted out in words. "I'm hungry, let's go eat ramen."

"Sorry, Naruto-san, I have errands to run. I was told to get things ready for the Chuunin Exams tomorrow. I would love to stay and flirt with you two GENINS, but I've really got to be going!" Yukari waved her hand at an annoyed Shikamaru and flicked Naruto a raspberry.

"Man, Yukari's a drag." Shikamaru sighed as the red-eyed girl vanished around the corner.


	5. Scroll 5

_**Scroll 5: Encounters**_

Yukari laughed at the dirt that her sandals kicked up as her feet raced across the path. She had done her required tasks for today, as set down by her sensei; Akanchi, Jamaru. The burning red orb of the sun was setting through the distant green trees that were outside the village. She had purchased her food for the next three days; sharpened her shuriken, kunai and chakra skills.

This was exciting. Tomorrow was going to be a series of fights worth, at least, a thousand words. She had heard from a very reliable source that Naruto was going to make a splash. Naruto had won in the preliminaries against Kiba and his dog, Akamaru. Yukari laughed to herself at the thought of dog-boy being beaten by Naruto. She was distracted by her thoughts as she stopped in front of her green and purple decorated apartment door. She removed her key and got it into the slot before she felt a presence behind her. A split second later, both her arms went numb, making her gasp and spin around.

"Ah, ah, ah; Yukari-san. That's enough movement from you." A masculine voice drifted into her ears as an arm slid around her waist; pushing her closer to the door.

She took all this in as she managed to turn her head around to see just who it was that dared pin her against the door. Kabuto Yakushi; another one of her classmates

Glasses rimmed his dark eyes as his grey hair was pulled back in a tie. A regular blue shirt covered his upper body and his legs were covered ninja pants; blue in color. Masculine hands were covered in gloves, leaving his fingers open. Kabuto's waist held a white sash belt. The over all figure of his was normal; slightly buff; but he was a ninja after all.

"The crud; you lame loser; get off of me!" Yukari took mental note of just how damaged her arms were. No feeling whatsoever below her shoulders. It was like somebody had cut her muscles off. So much for punching this guy's light out.

"Now, now Yukari-san is that any way to talk to a lover?" the dark-eyed male grinned and pushed his large glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose.

The comment caught her off-guard, leaving her too stunned to speak. Kabuto smirked as he reached up and turned the key to unlock her apartment door. He let the door swing open and bodily guided her into her own front room. Yukari started to panic as the nin sat her on the small, blue-green couch that took up most of her small 'front' room. The silver-haired, geeky looking ninja stepped back to openly admire her.

"Wait a blasted second! I know who you are." Yukari hissed through her gritted teeth. "You are that nin that helped Naruto-san out during the Forest of Death. Kabuto Yakushi. You pervert! What the heck are you doing in my apartment? I swear I'll…" She was cut off as Kabuto leaned down and planted his lips on hers.

"Oh yes, that. I admire your trickery in gaining entrance to the Forest of Death. I wonder just how you were able to get passed that proctor, and slip into the training grounds." Kabuto chuckled to himself. "Did you know you were being watched the whole time?"

Scarlet eyes went wide as his hand slid onto her throat. Yukari was iced in shock as the ninja before her spoke of something that only she knew. He wasn't lying. He HAD to have known about her escapade into the second part of the chuunin exams. If he told anybody else, like the Hokage; spilling the beans about what forbidden thing she did, she'd be in heaps of trouble.

He deepened the next kiss as his body sat down next to hers. Yukari tried to wriggle away from him; since his actions were way beyond her comfort level. Kabuto only drew her closer; making her gasp in surprise when she felt his hand wriggle down her pants.

"Mmmnnn!" Since her voice had mysteriously vanished, Yukari moaned out a retort. Kabuto was about to slide his fingers into her when he stopped. Her eyes were already locked at the door-frame in shock and surprise.

"I see we are being watched, Yukari-chan." The silver-haired molester removed his hand from her pants and turned to face the open door.

Gaara, the Sand Nin that she had met earlier in the day, stood in the open doorway. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stood in the open doorframe. Those cruel, green eyes and mouth were set in a scowl.

"Ah, Gaara." Kabuto laughed and stood up away from Yukari. "It's rude to interrupt personal business."

"Get lost, loser." Gaara grated out. "I will kill you both if you annoy me."

_Oh great. I have a freak genin rapist and a serial killer that's probably going to kill us both._ Yukari blinked as Kabuto turned back to her.

"I guess we cannot finish what we've started, my dear Yukari-chan." He smiled down at her as his hand slid around her neck again. Kabuto's head lowered next to her ear as he whispered: "I'll be meeting you again soon, Yukari-chan."

Yukari gulped nervously as she watched Kabuto pull back and walk towards the door; not pausing to even look at Gaara, the geeky-looking genin disappeared right out through the space.

Green eyes turned away from the molester to her again. Yukari twitched, finding out that her arms worked now. That was freaky. First they didn't work, now they did. Yukari stood up slowly and never let her red eyes off Gaara. She was sure he was going to kill her.

Suddenly Gaara poofed into a cloud of smoke; and Yukari knew it was transformation jutsu. She growled; finding the use of her voice once again; making her think once again how odd it was to have it back. Kabuto must have done something to her. When the smoke cleared, Gaara was no longer standing there; but Shino Aburame; the bug-infested boy from the Rookie Nine.

"SHINO!?" Yukari gasped, nearly having a brain lapse. This was definitely odd that the quiet Shino, of all ninja, had shown up in her apartment; disguised as Gaara. "What the hell are you doing here!?"

The quite male from the Aburame clan stood about five foot four. His spiky, dark brown hair was oddly comforting at this moment. His large, grey rain jacket covered most of his body, making his build a mystery to even Yukari. His pale face was in a neutral set as his eyes were covered in small, black glasses. Shino had on black pants and normal, open-toed sandals. His kunai pack was at his right leg; indicating that he was right-handed.

"What the hell was that!?" Yukari asked again; as Shino turned to close the open door. He paused; waiting to hear the click of the doorknob found its proper place in the frame. Shino turned around and approached her; making her cheeks burn under her skin.

"Are you ok, Yukari-san?" Shino's low-volume voice sent a shiver of delight up her spine.

"Yes, I am, but…what were you doing posing as Gaara!?" Yukari fumed, her nerves nearly shot. "I thought you were going to kill me!"

Shino's placid face was unchanged as he stepped up closer to her. "I was protecting you."

"Protecting me!?" Yukari looked leery at Shino. "I didn't need pro…"

Yukari's retort was cut short as Shino leaned in and placed his pale lips onto hers in a chaste kiss.

Yukari let out the breath she was holding the moment his lips touched hers. She relaxed and closed her eyes and let the emotions guide her to what she wanted. He was so gentle that she just let him kiss her and she responded. His kiss was completely different from the one Kabuto had just gave her. He pulled away and Yukari looked at him with her red eyes. He looked very serious and so very caring that she couldn't see herself deny him of anything at that moment.

Shino became a little bit bolder and he let his hand that cupped her shoulder move upward to hold her face. Yukari allowed this and slowly moved her own hand up to his face, slowly removing those black glasses off his face. This was the main thing that always stumped Yukari when she looked at the nearly-silent spoken genin ninja that had graduated a year after her. When she pulled the glasses off his eyes, she was very, very intrigued and mortified.

"Shino!?" Yukari gasped as she stared at his bug-filled eyes. Instead of eyeballs, there were bugs; several insects moving around in his sockets.

"I've been watching you all this time, Yukari-san. I burn to tell you my emotions. I cannot stand being away from you, for I think I love you."

Yukari's eyes widened when she heard this. Shino loved her…? For a short moment she tried to imagine herself a few years from now and she could easily see herself as his girl. Then she shook her head, banishing the thought.

"Shino…I…this is all too sudden…" Yukari trembled and burned inside. The abuse by Kabuto was sinking into her psyche now and she was shocked, scared and furious. She backed away from Shino, but he followed her movements, unthreateningly enough to make her stop her retreat. His hand slid onto hers; the hand that still held his black glasses.

"Yukari-san, please…" Shino began. She never let him continue as she let his hand take his glasses back.

"Shino…I want you to leave. Now. Please…you've got to…" Yukari's red eyes nearly wrenched Shino's gut inside out. They were full of fear and doubt. The young kunoichi turned her back towards the Bug Nin and sighed.

"You got to go get ready for the final exams tomorrow, right? I mean, you've made it in like Naruto-san. Shino-san, you should just go."

Her body moved on its own accord to the kitchen sink to prepare tea. Poor Shino just opened his heart up to her, yet she was scared witless inside.

Her tuned ears picked up the sounds of Shino coming up behind her, so she turned around to slug him in the face. The action fell flat, as the Bug Nin caught her fist and held it there.

"Yukari, I'm sorry you were attacked by Kabuto, but that doesn't entitle you to be rude." His soft, monotonous voice made her look up into his now-cover eyes. "I heard of the trouble in the Med-ward today and I wanted to make sure you were all right."

The sounds of the running water and the crickets outside her window were the only things in motion as the kunoichi stood there, staring at the Aburame boy. She slowly lowered her fist as Shino let it drop out of his grasp.

"Thank you, Shino." Yukari once again pulled away from Shino and turned around to shut the water off. Placing her hands on the counter top, she sighed. "I haven't had anyone look out for me like that since Sudokari died. Jamaru sensei is ignoring me more and more now, ever since Yuro fell into his coma."

Which was true, her sensei had virtually abandoned her after they returned to the village with her teammates dead and brain-dead. She then took it upon herself just to train herself to get her mind off the pain. Since then it was just her and at times, that loud-mouthed Naruto to talk to.

"Shino…" Yukari blinked as he wrapped his arms around her waist. The action…comforted her and she let him do it. "I'm sorry, my nerves are shot right now."

"It's ok, Yukari-chan." The soft voice of Shino helped her relax even more. "I know what Kabuto was trying to do to you, and I won't let it happen again."

She allowed her lips to curl upward for Shino. He smiled back at her and removed his arms from her waist.

"Thanks again, Shino." Yukari responded softly as her adrenaline rush was coasting down.

"Will you be at the final exams tomorrow, Yukari-san?"

"Yea, you can bet on it." She answered. "I'm not going to miss it for the world."


	6. Scroll 6

_**Scroll 6: Wake-Up Call**_

Kakashi Hatake and Yukari Uzaruki were in heaven; dancing on swirling leaves and shimmering sunlight. It was the annual Konohagakure dance-ball where all the coolest, prettiest and most handsome shinobi and kunoichi were invited to take part it. This year she had gone all out and wore that dark black and shimmery-blue silk dress that her sister, Raikanami Uzaruki, had made exclusively for her.

All around the arena couples danced. Shino Aburame danced with a beautifully white and purple clad Hinata Hyuuga. Neji Hyuuga and a blue and pink dressed Tenten floated gracefully on the floor; out-gracing the pair that was Chouji and Ino. To Yukari's left, Kiba was enhancing the gloriously care-free mood she already had by doing a fast shuffle with that adorably cute dog of his, Akamaru. To her right were the couples Lee and Sakura; their respective colors, green and red-pink, matched perfectly.

"Yuuuuuuuuuuu…kaaaaaa…riiiiiiii."

Beyond Lee and Sakura was the Hokage, dancing with some blonde, drop-dead glorious specimen of a woman that Yukari had yet to meet. This woman had such a bust, that Yukari would fear them to pop out of her tan/crème dress at any moment. Sand-blonde hair was tied loosely back as pale purple eyes shimmered with happiness overlying a deep pain. Sarutobi-Hokage, the old, regal man; wore a black tuxedo that was complete with his red and white Hokage-office hat.

"Yuuu…kaaa…riii."

She turned back to face the unmasked Kakashi Hatake, who, by the fates, had come to ask her to be his dance partner. For her; it was a dream come true as Konohagakure's most mysterious and aloofly sexiest jounin had set his sights on her. She could hardly wait to see his face as she was given the exclusive right to be the first to gaze upon the normally covered visage of Kakashi.

A pair of yellow-slitted eyes stared back at her. A pale face leered coldly at her as a forked tongue protruded from a cruel, set grin. Two small protruding fangs, like a viper snake, escaped the thin lips as the silver hair grew into a pitch-black mass of writhing snakes. Those cold, heartless yellow-serpent eyes couldn't have been right, as she knew Kakashi had such an aloof, carefree gaze. What was going on?!

The sunny day quickly grew dark as rain clouds opened their payload on the dancing couples, putting them all to sleep. Yukari stepped back and screamed as her once tall and mysterious Kakashi changed into a huge, frighteningly large coiling snake; leering down at her like she was a mouse to eat.

Her dress was ruined, the rain soaking it through to the bone. The Hokage turned to her and held out a decaying, dying hand; begging her to stop it. The old man was torn, beaten and ragged, as if he had been through a natural disaster. He took a step forward, trying to reach her.

"Yukari…help…me…"

"No!"

"Please…"

"NO!"

"…NO!" Yukari screamed as she sat bolt upright and stared into Naruto's bright, excited blue eyes. The shinobi was grinning at her as he perched on the end of her bed. Her rather wet bed. She had wet herself in bed.

Yukari felt her hand in something wet and cold. A bucket of water. Great. Naruto had screwed her sleep again.

In the Kon-Ken district that normally was peaceful this early, before the sunrise mornings li

, had a very different wake-up call than that farmer Jichatchi's annoying rooster crow.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI! YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"

Naruto dodged her first punch while pointing and laughing at her.

"Baka, Yukari, you wet the bed!" the blonde-nin sang out. He dodged yet another sloppy punch and picked up the bucket of water he carried through her open window.

"I SO HATE YOU, YOU IDIOT!" came her enraged reply. "Didn't I teach you before not to wake me up like that!"

Wearing an overly large white sleeping shirt and blue boxer shorts, Yukari was quite a sight, chasing and punching an elusive Naruto.

"That was a lesson?!" Naruto mock-asked. "I must have flunked that just like in class!"

"WHY YOU!" Yukari was moving in for the kill when Naruto drenched her with the bucket of water he had been dancing around with.

"Yukari, wake up!"

She blinked. Her wet body was shaking, as if someone had her by the shoulders.

Yukari sat up with a whole-body spasm.

"Huh?!" She looked around, and saw her normal room. No buckets of water; and no soaked her. However, Naruto was still there; being subjugated to her pillow-torment.

"Ack, Yukari!" Naruto's voice was muffled from under her pillow that held his bed against the side of her bed.

"Oops, sorry." She removed the pillow and set Naruto free. She then proceeded to lift her arms up and stretch with a yawn.

"What the heck was that for?!" Naruto was mad and he showed it.

"Eh, I said I was sorry, Naruto-chan." Yukari place her feet on the floor and yawned again. "I was having a weird dream when you woke me up."

"Whatever." Naruto scowled lightly and turned away from her. Seconds passed until he turned to face her again; his face in the biggest smile she had seen in quite a while.

"Huh? What's with you, Naruto?" Yukari lazily pointed at him like she was the stupid one.

"Heheheheheheee…" Naruto laughed. "Today is that day!"

"Today is what day?" Yukari slowly stood up and took note of her room. Looking out the window, her brain barely registered the fact the sun hadn't rose yet.

"TODAY IS THE DAY OF THE FINAL EXAMS!" Naruto's shouting voice nearly managing to topple her over.

"Oh……Naru…to….don't…tell me you…" Yukari's red eyes narrowed lazily as she marched up to the grinning blonde-haired ninja to jab a finger in at his chest. "That you…WOKE ME UP BEFORE DAWN!?"

The only thing she did was make Naruto laugh more. Yukari slapped her forehead and shook her head. She wasn't about to expend any energy trying to beat him up this early. She went over to her sink and readied herself some tea water. Naruto, as was his habit, made himself at home on her chair.

"So why exactly did you wake ME up for the final exams?" Yukari requested of her blonde-haired rival after a few seconds of quietness. Her red eyes watched with a fixed disinterest as the water she placed on the oven grow warm.

"Because…hehehehehe…I don't want you to miss out on me beating everyone up, Yuka-chan." Naruto's excited voice broke the morning quiet.

"Pfff…Naruto…that stupid exam thing is a good four hours away, you dumb-ass."

"So?"

The Uzaruki girl sighed again and placed the ginger-mint leaves in the now-hot water to let them soak. Turning to the other, she smirked. "So? Just what is so exciting about this exam anyway, I know you're one of the finalists, but that doesn't mean you can go around waking everyone up before the crack of dawn to celebrate."

"You're just jealous that I made it before you, Yuka-chan." Naruto pointed accusingly at her, his blue eyes darkening slightly.

"No…I'm just…NOT AN EARLY RISER!" Yukari finally laughed and stuck her foot in his face; making him fall out of the chair onto the floor.

Naruto marveled, internally, at the strength and dexterity of the genin that had just face-planted her foot on his face. Yukari had always been one to keep up with her exercises; going out to train from sun up to sundown at times, as he once spied on her. He had done this right after he became a genin, something she had been for over a year now. The fact that she hadn't been on a single mission since they first met, eight months ago, made Naruto slightly concerned. Picking himself up, he smirked and went over to sit on her bed.

"Not an early riser, huh?" He showed his distaste at being physically abused visible by wearing a scowl. "You don't have to take it out on me, Yukari."

"Geez, sorry." She sarcastically apologized.

Yukari then turned her attention to the readied tea and poured herself a cup; offering Naruto one. He shook his head and watched Yukari make her way to the table to sit.

Yukari treated him slightly better than his own teammate, Sakura, did. She was completely different, however, in terms of friendship. Yukari had been the first one in nearly the whole village to even pay attention to him in a friendly way; if you call beating to a pulp, friendly.

It was during one of his better pranks: defacing the Hokage Mountain, that he met her. Instead of the fear and disgust that the other villages always had on their faces when he was around; the girl was pissy: angry that he had so blatantly ran into her. He had been so surprised that she even looked at him; that she had managed to thoroughly defeat him.

After she was done with him; the beat-down was one done in a helpful way, pounding into him just why he was a ninja; she had introduced herself as Yukari Uzaruki of the Uzaruki Clan. She then went on about how he himself shouldn't run into girls that hard and watch where he was running; ninjas should be stealthy and crap.

It was then and there that made Naruto vow that he would never again be so soundly beaten by a girl. Of course the vow made her laugh and dare him to do it. So he took that dare and made good on it, becoming a genin the very next day. But the whole ordeal was shockingly refreshing for him due to the fact she had offered him her friendship.

Him. He that was despised and shunned by the children and adults alike in the village Hidden in the Leaves. She had been the first villager to treat him kindly; if beating the stuffing out of you was considered kind. Naruto since-forth trusted and enjoyed Yukari's friendship…even when she was forbidden to speak with him after her family ordered it.

And she reciprocated; her attitude was one that didn't change at all; making her move out on her own even when she was barely able to. Naruto had even confided in her about how Mizuki-sensei betrayed him and the village; calling him the Fox demon.

"How is it possible to hate you when you are you?!" Yukari had not shown fear, but confusion and interest. Naruto tried to explain it further, but she told him she got the point and thought it was awesomely cool to have a 'fox-squeeze toy' inside you. After all, foxes were very huggable and adorable.

"Huuuuulllooooooooooooooo…" came a voice. "Konoha to Naruto!?"

Naruto gave a start as a hand waved in front of his face.

"Huh? What!?"

"You were in the O-zone, Naruto-chan…are you sure you can fight?"

The comment pulled Naruto back to the real world in an instant.

"What do you mean, 'can I fight?' Of course I can fight! I was just thinking; that's all!"

"Sure, whatever you say, Naru-toe…" Yukari looked at him oddly and giggled behind her hand. The nickname she had given him when he told her about the Mizuki incident.

"YUKARI!" He whined. She didn't answer as she light-foot danced backwards to her bathroom.

"Awh, Naru-chan is blushing!" the Uzaruki teased further. "I hope 'he' doesn't make you sneak a peek while I'm in the bathroom!"

Naruto's face got even redder as she closed the door to the only other 'room' that was in this shabby place.


	7. Scroll 7

_**Scroll 7: Youthful Problems**_

Meiko Uzaruki was bored. She was still stuck in the Ninja Academy while her older sister, Yukari Uzaruki, was having all the fun. Even today, her sister had no missions and was watching the chuunin exams right now. Sitting here in the classroom with tan-wooden seats and a green-grey chalkboard on the front wall was nothing to get thrilled about.

Yukari-san, her older sister, had told her all about the chuunin exams and just who made the final cut. Meiko's favorite genin, that dog boy that always hung out around, didn't make the cut. That made her mad. The boy's dog was always fun to play with, because it was so smart. For the pair not to go on to the next step and become an official ninja was really frustrating for her.

"Darn it!" Meiko tossed her head up and shouted.

"Meiko! What is chakra!" the voice of her Chuunin instructor, Iruka Umino, cut through her day-dreaming.

"It's the stuff you use for ninjitsu and genjutsu!" was her quick reply. Her lame answer provided laughs for the rest of the pre-genin class. Iruka-sensei scowled at her and placed his handbook on the brown desk that was sitting near the front of the room.

"A chakra is a center of activity that receives, assimilates and expresses life force energy. The word chakra literally translates as wheel or disk and refers to a spinning sphere of bio-energetic activity emanating from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the spinal column. There are seven of these wheels stacked in a column of energy that spans from the base of the spine to the top of the head. There are also minor chakras in the hands, feet, fingertips and shoulders. Literally, any vortex of activity could be called a chakra. It is the seven major chakras that correlate with basic states of consciousness…" He explained to the class. "Meiko, you should know this by heart."

The young Uzaruki girl, only a fresh 8 years of age blushed. The other twenty kids in her class continued to laugh at her. Meiko's worthless red eyes flared darker as her blood boiled. Iruka-sensei was right. She was smart enough to rattle off an answer to such a simple question. What was wrong with her today!?

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei." Meiko mumbled and slide further into her seat. "I'll pay more attention now." The brown-haired man shook his head before continuing his lecture.

"Hey, pssst, Meiko-san. What's wrong?" the voice of the grandson of the Hokage interrupted her self-pity party.

"I'm just bummed that Yukari-san gets to watch the coolest fights today, and I'm stuck in class." The young Uzaruki girl muttered back.

"You're telling me, Meiko!" Konohamaru hissed back. "Naruto-dono is fighting today, and I can't watch, even though I'm the Hokage's grandson!"

"So?" Udon joined in. The snot-nosed, sandy-blonde haired boy was one of Konohamaru's best friends. Meiko didn't care.

"What's so hot about that Naruto-baka anyway? I heard he barely became a genin, and now he's taking the chuunin exams? What a joke!" Meiko muttered angrily.

"Hey, take that back, Meiko!" Konohamaru hissed slightly louder, his brown eyes becoming angry. "Naruto-dono is stronger than you know! He's going to become Hokage someday, if I don't!

"Tch…make me, you pipsqueak!" Meiko challenged, smirking at the grandson of the Hokage. "Hokage my ass, that idiot is an airhead!"

"THAT'S IT! I challenge you to a fight, Meiko of the Uzaruki Clan!" Konohamaru shouted his demand, making a show of himself by standing his right leg on the desktop and standing his body challengingly; leaving his finger dangerously close to Meiko's face.

"KONOHAMARU! What is the meaning of this!?" Iruka's severely annoyed voice cut through the pre-fight fight as the rest of the class fell silent; watching the outcome.

"Iruka-sensei! Meiko-san is insulting the great Naruto-dono! I refuse to sit by and do nothing!"

"So whatever, just leave me alone." She ignored the further chit-chat of the other pre-genin students and went inward. Today was going to be so slow.


	8. Scroll 8

_**Scroll 8: Getting In**_

Yukari smiled brightly as she approached the huge arena of which the final fights would be taking place. She had been worried about Naruto the whole time. He was gone when she was finished with her shower. Yukari figured he had left to go do any last minute prep for the fights. Just the thought of such high-octane action made her shiver with delight.

Naruto was strong, undeniably so. And she had checked the roster to see who was in what fight. Naruto was up first, against that Hyuuga classmate of hers; Neji.

She never did like Neji, and just being around him made her uneasy…even down-right nervous. She had been so busy with the stupid last-minute things her sensei gave her to do. It took up the last hours before the exams. And now she was here, with fifteen minutes to spare.

"Your ticket, please." The brown-haired, middle-aged man held out his hand to her, expecting a ticket. Yukari's eyes twitched. Nobody said anything about the need of tickets to get in.

"What do you mean, ticket, please?" Yukari stood there, astonished. Here she was, decked out in her nice clothes and this man wasn't going to let her in without some stupid piece of paper. "I'm Yukari Uzaruki, a genin from Team 13; I wasn't aware I needed a ticket to get into the chuunin fights today."

"Sorry, missy, you need a ticket." The man pressed on. Yukari politely tried to walk on past this ticket-counter, but he blocked her way. Meanwhile, her red-eyes caught others passing un-checked through the gate. This was not fair. Yukari had mere minutes to find a seat before the exams started, and here she was, being held up by some ticket-scammer.

"I need no ticket, you moron!" Yukari finally lost it after failing to stare this pudgy man down.

She had finally recognized the man as Hanko from the Tatami Clan. The Tatami Clan had nothing but spite for her and her clan. As far back as she could remember, the clan leader, Tatami-sama, always took pleasure in harassing her father for debts in the Ninja front. Now this one was barring her entrance to the Chuunin exams, and wouldn't let her in without making a scene. Something she couldn't afford.

"Hay, now, what's all this trouble, huh, Yuki-chan!" a gruff voice came from behind Yukari; and she instantly knew who it was. Only one obnoxious ninja would dare to call her such a lame name: Kiba Inuzuka of the Dog-Summoning Clan. He was from Kurenai's Team 8; a class-year or so beneath her.

"Kiba!" Yukari spun around and gave a huge grin. Kiba Inuzuka was a great friend, and his animal companion was just as tough as any ninja she knew. "Akamaru!"

"Woof!" the blonde-furred puppy barked in reply.

"Is this man giving you trouble, Yuki-chan?" Kiba ran his thumb under his tough, chakra-enhanced nose.

Kiba was a rough one for sure, as his height was five foot and growing. His grey rain jacket matched his black-blue ninja pants just fine, although the hood, which was down at the moment, could be better off gone. Kiba wore that fur-lined hood up most of the time, giving the appearance of his spiky-brown hair more oomph. His brown eyes weren't the most striking feature on his angular face. The pair of red Inuzuka tattoos were. They looked like wide teardrops that started half-inch under his eyes and ran down his cheeks. Yukari always thought those made him look tougher than normal. But she wasn't one to say anything since she was just fine with the red-inked face-décor.

Another unique thing about this male shinobi was the fact that his puppy, the growing secret/mystery breed of dog, Akamaru always rode in his half-zipped jacket. The puppy was just adorably cute at this age; and Yukari loved to tease Kiba and hold Akamaru.

"Wh-what…oh…H-hi Yukari-san." A soft, stammering voice entered Yukari's ears.

If she hadn't said anything, the other person might have been utterly overlooked by Yukari's eyes. Hinata Hyuuga. One of the Rookie Nine and the shy, soft-hearted heir to the Hyuuga household. The black-blue haired kunoichi looked almost like Yukari herself. There were many small differences or course; the hair colors, the busts and the eyes.

Hinata's legendary Byakugan were silver-lavender. The eyes that can see chakra. Shy Hinata, stood there behind Kiba, her grey-tan jacket zipped up to her neck, only showing enough below to bare her Konoha band.

Hinata stood about her own height, but weighed slightly more. Although her ninja outfit was drastically changed from Yukari's own. Her black capri-pants went down to her mid-lower leg and the regular; blue ninja sandals covered her feet. Her hairstyle was unique as well; the blue-black hair was in a back-flowing widow's peak with two strands that lined her soft face.

"Oh, hello, Hinata-san!" Yukari had a nagging doubt that this girl had a total crush on Naruto-chan, but never had the concrete proof. Great minds think alike.

Hinata only nodded as she blushed heavily. Yukari knew Hinata was painfully shy. Lord knows what abuse her clan heaped on poor, quiet Hinata. But that didn't stop Yukari from trying to be a friend.

"Yea, Kiba…this…MAN!" Yukari turned back to the now nervous Tatami man. "Refuses to let me in without a ticket."

"Well, that's a shame, isn't it, Yukari-chan." Kiba spoke haughtily.

"Woof!" Akamaru said.

"Aren't you going to do something about it!?" Yukari spat back; heaping the responsibility on Kiba to see how he would react.

"Kiba-san…we-we sh-should go in there. The fights are ab-about to start." Hinata stuttered out. If Yukari wasn't so herself at the moment, she would have winced.

"Oh, I'll do something alright, Yukari-chan…" Kiba gave his fanged grin before canting his head towards his shy, female team-mate. "Relax, Hinata, this'll only take but a minute!"

Yukari was stunned when Kiba put Akamaru on the ground and pointed to the now-sweating nervously Tatami Clan member.

"Sic 'em Akamaru!" Came the command.

The dog barked once and pounced on the chubby man, biting the seat of his pants.

"AAAAHHH!" the Tatami clan member yelled in surprise more than pain and took off running. The scene struck Yukari was so odd; she was doubled over laughing in the next second.

"See, Hinata-san, I told you it wouldn't take that long." Kiba grinned as Akamaru ran back to him.

"Kiba, you _baka_!" Yukari smirked at the dog-boy. "I suppose this is the easy way in, huh?"

"You know it, Yuki-san." The brown-haired boy blinked in surprise as Yukari snatched Akamaru from his hands and hugged the puppy to her own chest.

"Sure! Let's go!"

"Arf!" Akamaru, although deadly-fierce loyal to Kiba, had a crush on Yukari. The fact that she always gave him peanut butter made her even cooler. "Woof! Arf!"


	9. Scroll 9

_**Scroll 9: Chuunin Exams; First Fight**_

Yukari dodged Kiba as he tried to win back the tail-wagging Akamaru from her hands. She, Hinata and Kiba had climbed the stairs to find their arena seats.

"Yukari-chan…please give Akamaru back to Kiba." Hinata's stuttering had stopped, as did her shy-streak. The girl was amazingly strong, Yukari knew that. If only the Hyuuga girl had as much self-courage to replace her shyness.

"Awh, ok, since you said please." Yukari laughed as Akamaru jumped from her hands and into Kiba's. Hinata smiled her thanks as the trio sat down in the wooden seats.

The area around their seats were a buzz with conversations and the such. Yukari was happy to see so many people turn out for this fight. Looking downward towards the floor, she noted the special jounin, Genma Shiranui, was speaking to the shinobi behind him. Genma was only knows to her as being a friend to her older brother, Kensuke, whom was also a special jounin. In front of the jounin, stood the fight-candidates; Shino was there, standing beside Shikamaru. Naruto was in the group as well, fidgeting about something she had no clue about. Neji Hyuuga came next, being there in that space, unmoving and uncaring. Yukari frowned because she did not like Neji at all.

The Hyuuga Clan had two factions: The Main Family and the second branch family. The second branch family had all kinds of restrictions and rules they had to follow. That was a real upset for the Branch Family. Hinata was from the main branch while Neji was from the secondary branch. Neji had to be made of ice or something, the way he acted aloof and professional.

The murderous Gaara stood next in line; his teal-eyes scanning the crowd for who knows what. Yukari shivered as she took a seat. Next to Gaara were two other Sand Shinobi; one male and the other female. The male was clad in black, his tan face had purple kabuki-type marking on it and his back carried a white something or rather with a pile of brown spike-fur at the top. The female looked tough, nearly as tough as the male. Her sandy-blonde hair was pulled back in pig-tufts that sat behind her ears. She had a huge fan strapped her back.

"You think Naruto-san is going to win the fight, Kiba?" Yukari surprised herself by bringing up such a lame question. She, like Kiba, undoubtedly knew Naruto would wipe the floor with Neji.

"Who knows, Yukari-san. I say Naruto-san will give Neji a run for his money." Kiba laughed back in his answer; then continued to look around. Yukari stopped listening after her name.

Those sleepless eyes rimmed in black stared at her; boring a sharp, hard and heavy gaze that could surely topple buildings. Gaara had been staring at her since she sat down. The murderous gaze wasn't there, however, as pure malicious curiosity emanated from his aqua eyes.

"Yukari!?"

"Huh!?" She tore her own red-orbed gaze away from his to and turned them to Kiba. "What!"

"Look! It's the Hokage!"

The old, aged man was standing in the prime sectioned seats. Yukari smiled brightly as the Hokage stood, stepping forward to speak.

"Welcome! Everybody! To the Hidden Leaf Chuunin Exams!" The red-hat wearing Hokage greeted.

Many people cheered for the Hokage. Of course, he was one hellava guy. As old as he was, Yukari more than knew he deserved the respect he earned. Plus his outfit; the white Hokage over coat that dropped down to his feet and his triangular, red-rimmed hat denoted his status as the village's greatest Shinobi.

"Yea! Go Hokage!" Yukari shouted as the crowd in her section did. Kiba laughed along with her as the Hokage made his opening speech. He spoke namely to the genin in the arena's belly.

She was focusing on Naruto now, and not so much the Hokage's special seats; so she missed seeing the Kazekage when he entered.

Naruto and Neji were the ones left on the arena floor as the proctor began announcing the rules for the fights. Yukari leaned forward; her ears not catching what was said down below. Around her, the environment fazed out as she gazed intently as her friend threw the first punch.

This fight was going to be the best.


	10. Scroll 10

_**Scroll 10: ANBU ANTICS**_

Kensuke Uzaruki shifted his weight from foot to foot slowly; after realizing he had been standing in the same position for the past ten minutes. He, like his fellow ANBU squad members, had been called upon by the Hokage. His assignment for the day was to be on alert for the legendary sannin known as Orochimaru. The malicious ninja was surely lurking around nearby. It was his job, as well as the rest of ANBU, to make sure the snake didn't interrupt today's big event; the final part of this year's chuunin selection.

Kensuke really had nothing personal against the sannin, nor knew anything past the name and that the man was dangerous. He smiled; it didn't matter if Orochimaru was his sensei; ANBU agents went by what the Hokage assigned them to do. It was their pride.

Standing at a good six feet and seven inches, Kensuke was the first child and heir to the small-ish clan of the red-eyed Uzarukis. Borne to the two people that he dedicated his first fifteen years of life to: his father, Hibachi and the lovely, yet non-Akashingan-gifted woman: Maisuke; mother. Kensuke was honored to be among the village's most elite: ANBU. He once had family in the ANBU as well; his younger sister, yet second child to the Uzarukis: Raikanami Uzaruki.

Raikanami, his sister; the beauteous, raven haired princess of his life. Kensuke was pleasantly shocked when he found out he wasn't the main light in his parents' life. They had a new baby, a girl. Of course that was back when he was only two years of age. He dealt with it like any normal boy and went sour. However, as time passed by and his little sister grew, he turned to more positive ways; caring, loving and even teaching the annoying girl-brat the ways of the red-eyed Uzarukis. His clan was the thing of his life, and if there were more of his clan, the stronger he would need to be if they were going to be great.

They, as a pair, had been the Village's youngest special Bird-Unite; answering to only the Hokage and the Village Elders. The job had been, if the common person knew of the details, pathetically small; however it was the most important thing as far as secret communications went. Kensuke and his sister had the duty of maintaining the Village Eagle that represented the call of duty for jounin and ANBU alike. The eagle's name, Torikaze; a name that meant wind of the bird, was a sentient bird from the Rock-Eagle Clan.

Raikanami had the honor of being contracted with the Village Eagle as the Summoner and often lived at the Hokage's building. Kensuke was fine with that; up until that summer eight years ago when the Hokage announced the political marriage of the Uzarukis and Uchihas. Hibachi and Maisuke were all for it, and Kensuke eventually understood why; the Uzarukis were, in the past, often used to breed fresh blood into the Uchiha Clan.

By that time, his sister, him and their teammate, Maso Iruo, were all in the ANBU Squad. It was natural that the most important ANBU Elite answer to the Uchihas; since the Uchihas organized the ANBU to begin with.

What happened in the next week nearly tore his life apart; not only did the heir to the Uchiha clan lost his mind, killing the jounin, Saitou?


End file.
